Page:Poetical Works of John Oldham.djvu/129

Till he at length, by the enemy seduced,
Forsook us, and the hostile side espoused.
⁠'Had not the mighty Julian^[1] missed his aims,
These holy shreds had all consumed in flames;
But since the immortal lumber still endures,
In spite of all his industry and ours,
Take care at least it may not come abroad,
To taint with catching heresy the crowd.
Let them be still kept low in sense,—they'll pay
The more respect, more readily obey;
Pray that kind Heaven would on their hearts dispense
A bounteous and abundant ignorance,
That they may never swerve, nor turn awry
From sound and orthodox stupidity.
⁠'But these are obvious things, easy to know,
Common to every monk, as well as you.
Greater affairs, and more important, wait
To be discussed, and call for our debate;
Matters that depth require, and well befit
The address and conduct of a Jesuit;
How kingdoms are embroiled, what shakes a throne,
How the first seeds of discontent are sown
To spring up in rebellion; how are set
The secret snares that circumvent a state;
How bubbled monarchs are at first beguiled,
Trepanned, and gulled, at last deposed, and killed.
⁠’When some proud prince, a rebel to our head,
For disbelieving holy church's creed,
And Peter-pence,^[2] is heretic decreed,
And by a solemn and unquestioned power
To death, and hell, and you delivered o'er:
Choose first some dexterous rogue, well tried, and known,
(Such by confession your familiars grown)

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1. Julian, the Apostate Emperor of Rome.
2. A tribute, or tax, formerly paid by the English to the Pope. It was levied at Lammas-day, and was called Peter-pence, the rate being a penny for every house. It was called also by the no less significant name of Romescot.